


Who Am I?

by ChocolateKid



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Asexual Castiel (Supernatural), Asexual Character, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Castiel Likes Dean Winchester, Clueless Castiel, Dean Winchester Likes Castiel, Doctor Sexy M.D., Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Happy Ending, Kissing, M/M, No Smut, Openly Bisexual Dean Winchester, Pie, Private Investigators, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Robot Castiel, Skeptical Dean Winchester, Slavery, So basically, Somewhat, World Domination, but not really, cas gets lost, duh - Freeform, he meets sam, i have no idea how to tag this, kind of, metatron is replacing people with robots, they start investigating, you know me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-27 06:37:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12075546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateKid/pseuds/ChocolateKid
Summary: A mad scientist wanting world domination. A robot getting left behind. Two helpful brothers.That's it, that's the story.(Prompt in the end notes.)





	Who Am I?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CoralQueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoralQueen/gifts).



> SO MANY APOLOGIES for being absent for so long. I don't have any excuses. Sorry.
> 
> Nevertheless, after almost three months, I finally finished Evangeline74's prompt. (Also, I should probably add that I just realized I might've understood the prompt a little differently from what was intended, but now it's written, so... sorry! I hope you still like it.)
> 
> About the story: Yes, I did base Cas's name on the Computer Algebra System and I'm not even sorry. Please don't ask me anything about how Cas doesn't need to recharge and stuff like that, since I have absolutely no idea. xD
> 
> Oh, and the beginning and the end might read a little weird because I wrote Prologue and Epilogue in present tense and the rest of it in the past. It was intentional and it kind of works, so I didn't feel like changing anything anymore. Just... don't be confused or whatever.
> 
> That's probably all I wanted to say.
> 
> Hopefully, I'll be able to post more stories again from now on! I'll try my best.
> 
> I hope you like this. Enjoy!

**Prologue**

He walks down a narrow street. It's cold and misty and he can barely see what's ahead of him, but that doesn't bother him much. He doesn't know where he's headed anyway, so he simply continues walking.

They've left him behind. He isn't sure why and whether it happened on purpose or by accident, he just knows that he wants to go home. He doesn't know where home is though.

Slowly, the street is getting busier. It's some kind of market place, he realizes, and it fills with humans, walking together, talking and laughing. It's loud. It serves as a sharp contrast to the spooky silence of the mist.

He looks at the pedestrians curiously. He knows what humans are, but he's never seen quite this many quite this close, and it's weird.

He also knows he's not one of them.

What he is, he doesn't know. He looks human, he feels human, but deep inside he knows he isn't. There's something off about him, the way he feels caged inside his body, but he deals with it. He's used to it. It's all he's ever known.

Deep in thought, he passes a store window and slows down, something catching his eye. He tilts his head. It's a TV and it's running, a news channel informing people about the events of the day. He can't hear what they're saying and the video quality is bad, but he watches nevertheless.

He doesn't know what they're talking about. The only word he can clearly see on screen is _CAS_ and he likes it... He has no clue what it means but he likes it.

So that's who he'll be. Cas.

He smiles.

He may not know what he is, but at least he has a name now. It's a step in the right direction.

The smile never leaving his face, Cas turns his head away and keeps going.

* * *

* * *

**Somewhere Unknown**

"How many do we have now?" the man sitting in the too-big-for-him leather chair asked in a bored voice while plucking at the wooden desk with his fingernails. The sound it made felt weird on his assistant's skin.

"Another 10,000 were just replaced," he told his boss. "So, adding the ones we've already replaced over the last few weeks, we have a total of 250,000."

The man's head jerked up, his curly gray hair moving on his head agitatedly, and his face distorted into an ugly grimace. "250?" he asked, unhappy. "That's the population of a small city! It's not nearly enough," he decided and slammed his hand down on the desk for emphasis. It didn't do much except hurt his hand.

"But, Mr. Metatron, sir..." the assistant tried to calm him down but the man didn't care to listen.

"No, Inias, I _don't_ want to hear it," he hissed and Inias lowered his head in submission, while at the same time trying to hide his anger. It wasn't his fault things weren't going the way they were supposed to go.

"I apologize, sir," he said quietly, hoping to please his boss enough to let him go easy, but Metatron wasn't done. He pulled himself out of his leather chair and came closer, his small form failing to seem the least bit threatening but Inias pretended to be intimidated anyway. It was the smart thing to do.

"Inias," Metatron started slowly, his voice dripping with false friendliness. He sounded as if he was talking to a small child and Inias didn't like it one bit. "Do you even _know_ what exactly our plan is?" he asked, as if the plan hadn't been the only thing they'd been talking about for _months_.

"Of course I do, sir," Inias said, exasperated. "Replacing the human population with robots," he elaborated vaguely.

"Uh-uh, not just _robots_ , Inias," he scolded, a smug, I-am-better-than-you expression on his face. "We're replacing them with _people_ , my friend. New people, _better_ people! Improved versions. And of course, they're all completely under my control!" Metatron exclaimed and laughed exhilaratedly. The happiness didn't suit him. But then again nothing really _suit_ _ed_ him.

"I know, sir," Inias said, just barely keeping himself from snapping back at him. But Metatron was his boss for a reason, so Inias forced himself to submit to him. He didn't exactly have an alternative anyway.

"They truly are a work of genius, though, don't you think?" Metatron asked, wandering back to his desk, and flopped down on the chair clumsily. It seemed to eat him alive, that's how deep he sank into it.

"Yes, sir," Inias agreed quietly.

"Perfect copies of real-life people, complete with memories and everything. Nobody will notice the difference! Not even themselves," Metatron bragged, still wearing that insufferable smirk. Inias somehow felt the need to rain on his parade.

"Well, sir, we have been experiencing _some_ difficulties," Inias answered back and looked down on his notes. "Especially in our latest copies, we've noticed certain... 'bugs'. They get stuck from time to time."

"So? It's not like anyone will notice," Metatron waved off Inias's concern. "Just fix the problem on the next ones. And I expect you to increase the number we produce! Now leave me alone, I have some thinking to do," he explained and Inias nodded, setting his jaw.

'Thinking'. Of course. 'Napping' would be the more appropriate term.

Still, he didn't argue, knowing it wouldn't change anything, and left the room silently.

* * *

Cas had been wandering around for hours. The mist had disappeared and it had started getting dark, raindrops beginning to fall. The wetness made his skin feel uncomfortable.

It didn't seem like the rain was going to stop anytime soon and even though Cas didn't feel things like coldness, he was a little bothered by the moisture on his skin. It felt slippery.

Deciding he'd better get somewhere dry, Cas started looking around for a shelter and saw a café at the corner. But since Cas didn't require nutrition or anything, he decided on the building next to it. A library.

He entered without hesitation.

Inside, it was quiet. Somewhere in the back of his head Cas knew that was what libraries were supposed to be, but the silence in combination with the relative emptiness of the building had a somewhat eerie effect. Cas didn't even notice though. Fear was an emotion he did not feel.

Walking past the tables, he noticed the librarian waving at him with a big smile on her face and he hesitantly lifted his hand in a greeting. He didn't know this woman and was therefore a little put out by her friendliness. So, a bit insecure about her motives, Cas entered an aisle full off books to get out of her sight. It was as good a hiding place as any.

In the aisle, standing next to the shelf, there was a tall man with shaggy brown hair, book in hand, who glanced up for a second when Cas walked in. Soon enough he lost interest though and turned his attention back to his book. Cas was thankful for it.

He took a look at the shelf. They seemed to be standing in the "Legends and Myths" section of the library, a book called "Angels And Their Origin" staring right back at Cas. He reached out a hand to take it ... and found that he couldn't.

His hand froze halfway to the book, getting stuck in the air as if his arm was made of stone, and no matter how hard Cas tried, he couldn't move it one inch. Not forwards _or_ backwards. He tilted his head in confusion and brought up his left hand to try and tug at his arm, but it wouldn't budge. What was wrong with him?

He tried tugging harder.

"Hey, dude, you okay?" the man from beside him asked curiously and Cas turned his head towards him. He was still standing where he stood before, his book open in his hands, but he was now staring at Cas with raised eyebrows. It was obvious he was talking to him.

"I do not know," Cas replied quietly. "I appear to be stuck," he explained and turned his gaze back to his arm hanging in the middle of the air. The man's eyes followed him.

"Stuck how?" he asked and closed his book slowly, putting it back on the shelf. Obviously, his attention had completely shifted to Cas now.

"I cannot move my arm," Cas explained calmly. "I am stuck."

"Let me try," the man said and reached out a hand to touch Cas's arm. As soon as he did though, sparks flew right where he touched him and the man ripped his hand away with a hiss. "Damn it!" he cursed and held his hand in a tight grip to relieve the pain.

When Cas next checked, he was able to move his arm again. It was as if the electric shock had set him free somehow.

"Oh, thank you," he said and smiled.

"Dude, what was that? What _are_ you?" the man asked frantically and received a head tilt from Cas in return.

"I do not know," he answered honestly.

"Wait, so you're not... human?" he asked.

"No, I am not," Cas replied, not seeing the point in lying.

"Okay... Okay," the man repeated and was quiet for a few pensive seconds, then he asked, "Do you, uh... belong to someone then? What's your name?"

"I do not know who I belong to. They have left me behind. My name is Cas," he responded. "What is your name?" he asked in return. His first interaction with a human being was going well so far, he thought.

"I'm Sam," the man replied and continued his query. "Has this happened before? The 'getting stuck' thing?"

Cas narrowed his eyes in thought. "Not that I can remember," he said. "But then again, I cannot remember _being_ for a very long time," he explained.

At that, Sam's eyebrows raised again and he looked at Cas contemplatingly. Then, he nodded to himself, obviously having come to a decision.

"I have an idea. If you come home with me, I could try to fix that problem you have with getting stuck and help you figure out what you are," he offered. "In return, I'd like you to answer some questions for me. Sound like a deal?"

Cas nodded solemnly. He didn't see a problem with any of it and he liked Sam very much already. He seemed to be a very friendly human. "I will come with you," Cas assured him.

"Great," Sam said and smiled. "Follow me then."

And Cas did. He followed Sam past the cheery librarian, who waved at both of them again, and outside into a black muscle car. It was still raining, but not as heavily as before.

"We don't really have seatbelts," Sam mentioned when they sat down, even though Cas hadn't made an attempt to look for them. "Sorry," he added, not sounding all that sorry, and turned the key in the ignition. The car came to life with a rumble.

"Please don't touch anything," Sam said, more as a precaution than anything else, because Cas hadn't moved a single finger since sitting down. "It's just that this is my brother's car and he _loves_ it. Like, _loves_ _it_ loves it. Calls her 'Baby' and all," he explained, a small smile on his face. "So, just don't touch anything." And Cas nodded, even though he didn't quite understand.

The drive to Sam's house was a short one. Apparently, he lived close enough to walk but had decided to take the car because it was raining. Sam told him that even though it was his brother's car, today had been one of the rare occasions Dean -that was his brother- had allowed him to borrow it.

They lived together, or so it seemed.

Sam and Cas arrived soon enough and Sam parked the car in a spacious garage next to a small but pretty looking house. Leaving the car when Sam did, Cas followed Sam around to the front door.

"I'm home!" Sam yelled into the house after he fit the key in the lock, and entered without hesitation. He closed the door behind Cas, who opted to stand in the entryway and look around curiously.

They were basically standing in the living room, a couch and a TV on their right, and they could see the kitchen from where they were standing. Cas noticed a movement in there seconds before a voice answered, "Did you bring food?"

The man who spoke quickly turned the corner and froze, staring at Cas in surprise. "Oh, uh..." he started. He was tall as well, but not as tall as Sam, and he had short, spiky hair. Also, the greenest eyes Cas had ever seen. They were mesmerizing, Cas decided.

He was also carrying a cup of coffee. And even though Sam and he didn't look anything like the other, it was obvious that this was Dean.

Dean looked Cas up and down in interest, a small grin beginning to spread on his face, and without stopping his staring, he said, "Sammy, who's your handsome friend?" The lewd smirk never vanished and he winked at Cas suggestively.

"Cut it out, Dean. Cas is a robot or something, I doubt he's even _capable_ of falling for you," Sam said nonchalantly and pulled a chair from the kitchen table into the middle of the room and sat down on it.

Dean's smile dropped. "What do you mean, 'robot'?" he asked tensely and alternated between staring at Cas and glaring at Sam. "You're fucking with me, right?"

"Nope," Sam replied, not even sparing his brother a look. "Gave me an electric shock so strong I saw stars. He has to be some kind of robot, or cyborg or something."

Dean's eyes widened in disbelief and he sent another alarmed glance at Cas. Then, he set his jaw, grabbed Sam by his shirt sleeve and pulled him with him into the kitchen. Sam yelled in protest but went with him nevertheless.

Stupidly enough, they were still close enough for Cas to understand every single word they said.

"Are you _out of your frickin' mind_?" Dean started whisper-yelling once they were out of Cas's sight and Sam let out an annoyed, 'Ow!' when Dean seemingly punched his arm. "You _knowingly_ bring a robot into our home without asking me first or knowing any of its intentions? He could be dangerous, Sammy! Hell, he _is_ dangerous, you told me so yourself! What the hell were you _thinking_?"

"He's not _dangerous_ , Dean," Sam defended him. "At least not that I can tell. He doesn't even know what he is or where he came from and the electric shock he gave me was an accident that we're trying to fix. That's why he's here, so I can fix him and find out what his deal is," Sam explained. "If you could have just trusted me for _one_ second, we'd already be finding out things about him."

"Dude, just because he doesn't _seem_ dangerous doesn't mean he isn't, Sammy. Especially in our line of work, we have to be _careful_. And he doesn't know where he's from? Yeah, right. That's called _lying_ , little bro," Dean countered.

Cas's heart felt weirdly heavy in his chest. Apparently, Dean really thought he was not to be trusted. But the worst thing about all of it was that he couldn't even say anything to defend himself. Everything Dean said made sense. And maybe Cas really was dangerous, how was he supposed to know? He barely had any memories after all.

He deflated quietly, not knowing why he felt like he did, and turned his head, not wanting to continue listening. Instead, he forced himself to take another look around. Hanging on the wall were a few family pictures of Sam and Dean as kids with their parents. Also, a photo of a grumpy looking older guy in a suit and a tough-looking woman in a wedding dress, a girl of about 16 years standing next to them proudly. Maybe their daughter? Cas didn't know. He should ask Sam about it later...

He continued looking around, trying to tune out the voices from the kitchen. Ignoring the brothers' fight was nearly impossible but Cas certainly tried.

The fight didn't go on for much longer though. Judging by the look on their faces when they came back in, Sam had won the argument, leaving Dean pouting a step behind his brother. Cas couldn't help but stare at him.

"What?" Dean snapped when he noticed and Cas averted his eyes quickly.

"So, Cas," Sam started, sitting down again, and Cas glanced up again. "Do you know where we can... open you up? You know, uh, to try and fix you?" he asked awkwardly and Cas frowned, thinking. Whenever someone even came close to him in that factory hall, they were standing behind him. So his back was probably the most likely location.

He turned around so his back was facing Sam and Dean, and took off his shirt. He heard Dean breathe out in surprise and looked down on himself self-consciously. Everything appeared to be normal on his front, chest and abdomen toned and human-looking, but he had no way to know what he looked like from behind.

"Okay, um... I'm gonna... open you up now," Sam said hesitantly and reached out a hand. There was the sound of a cover being opened and as soon as he did, Cas froze on the spot, all thoughts gone. It was as if he was in a trance; he was still there but he barely noticed what was going on around him.

After what felt like forever, Sam closed the cover again and Cas was able to think again.

"Cas?" Sam asked. "You with us?"

"Yes."

"Good. You shut off for a while there," he said.

"Could you fix the problem?" Cas asked because he didn't know what else to reply.

"I haven't done anything yet, but I know what the problem is. I just gotta go and get some tools," he assured him. "I'll be back in a minute." And with those words, he disappeared.

And Cas was alone with Dean.

He stayed exactly where he was, silently waiting for Sam to come back, but Dean seemed to have other plans. He walked around Cas to stand in front of him and crossed his arms. "So, _Cas_ ," he said, obviously mocking the name he had given himself, and Cas glanced up at him expectantly. "You might've fooled my brother," he started, holding Cas's curious stare, "but don't believe for a _second_ that I'm trusting you this quickly."

Cas just continued looking at Dean before he had to glance away for a moment, and then nodded solemnly. "I understand," he replied. Weirdly enough, he didn't even feel insulted by Dean's mistrust. It was justified after all.

Seeming a little confused by his unspectacular reply, Dean left him alone after that, walking back to where he'd been standing before and leaned against the wall. His arms were still crossed over his chest skeptically.

"Okay, let's do this," Sam suddenly said, announcing that he was back, and opened Cas up without further interruptions. Cas froze once more.

Again, he couldn't have said how many minutes he was out, but when he came back to himself, Sam was already speaking, "...should be fixed now."

"Thank you, Sam," Cas said genuinely and turned around to face him and his brother, their gazes on him feeling weird on his bare skin. Especially Dean's, who was eyeing up his muscled abs with a scowl. Cas looked away.

"So," Sam started again. "You promised I could ask a few questions?" he asked more than said and Cas nodded without hesitation. A deal was a deal.

"Of course," he promised, ready to do everything in his power to help Sam.

"Okay then, I'll just get a pen and some paper to take notes, okay?"

And he did exactly that.

A few seconds later he was ready to start, sitting in his chair again. Dean's skeptical -but also mighty curious- gaze never left Cas's face.

"Okay, um..." Sam mumbled, thinking about what to ask first, and decided on, "What happened before I found you? What's the earliest thing you remember?"

Cas thought about it. There wasn't much he did remember, there was the factory hall, the van, the hospital and the library. Then Sam and Dean. Apart from that, not much else.

"The first thing I remember is standing in a factory hall," he said slowly.

"Do you know what kind of factory hall?" Sam inquired.

"No, I am afraid not."

Dean scoffed quietly, mumbling to himself. Sam and Cas both ignored it.

"Okay. What was in that hall?"

"The memory is hazy but ... it was full with people like me. Robots, as you would say. We were not allowed to move, but we would not have been able to anyway if we tried. I assume the covers on our back were kept open."

Sam nodded, taking a few notes. "Do you know how many there were?"

"I do not, I am sorry," Cas started. "Hundreds? A few thousand? I cannot tell you, my mind is a little fuzzy still," Cas replied, feeling bad because he wasn't of much use, but Sam smiled at him reassuringly.

"It's okay, Cas, really. Were there humans, too?" he asked next and Cas nodded slowly.

"A couple. They checked on us from time to time. Our backs. I do not know what they were doing. Like I mentioned, the covers were kept open until they made us enter the vans."

"The vans?" Sam repeated with a raised eyebrow. Dean was listening rather attentively as well.

"Yes. I cannot tell you how long we were standing in the hall. It could have been a few days only or months, but after a while, some men closed the covers on a few of us and made us climb into vans. We were around forty persons per van and it was rather small. Uncomfortable. We drove for hours."

"Do you know where you drove to? Or where you started?"

"I am sorry," Cas apologized.

"Don't worry about it." He looked down on his notes. "What happened after the van?"

"Two men made us leave the car. We were standing in front of a hospital, I believe. They ushered us inside but I became distracted for a few seconds -there was a child's drawing of a bee hanging on the wall- and when I looked up again, the others were gone."

"You were alone?" Sam asked. Dean frowned.

"Yes. They have left me behind. I do not know why."

"Sounds like it was an accident though," Sam decided, but judging by the look on Dean's face, Dean didn't trust the whole thing. He seemed apprehensive and unsure what to think.

"It probably was," Cas agreed even though he didn't know.

"So, a hospital. You probably don't know which one?"

"No... When I saw that the others had left me, I looked around, and left the building when I could not find them. I walked the streets, hoping to find someone I recognized. I did not find anyone," Cas continued. "I was walking for a few hours."

"Then that hospotal can't be that far away," Sam mumbled, more to himself than to Cas. "Thirty minutes by car at the most."

Dean nodded absent-mindedly. "We'll have to check that out," he commented, speaking up for the first time during the intervention.

"What happened next?" Sam asked even though he knew most of the rest.

"I took on the name Cas. When it started raining, I entered the library and I met you. You took me with you."

"Okay," Sam said, taking his last few notes, and then sent Dean a meaningful glance. Dean nodded.

"So, tell us," Dean started, apprehension and skepticism written all over his face again. "Who exactly is Jimmy Novak?"

Cas furrowed his brow in confusion. The name didn't sound familiar. "I do not know," he said for what felt like the hundredth time today. "I am sorry."

Dean rolled his eyes at his apology but didn't comment, and took out his phone instead.

Now it was Sam who spoke up again, "You see, Cas, it's just something we found when we were opening you up. There was a number on your, um... engine, I guess -which could be a serial number or something- and then there was that name, 'Jimmy Novak,' written underneath..." he said. "Are you sure you don't know what that means?" he asked again.

"I am sorry," he repeated, feeling crappy. He wasn't much help in all of this.

"Got him," Dean suddenly announced and pressed down on his phone. His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Okay, that's weird," he decided and held up his Smartphone to present the Facebook page of one Jimmy Novak, his profile picture big on the screen.

He had Cas's face.

Cas looked up at Dean. "What does that mean?" he asked. Was he Jimmy Novak? Was that his real name? What if he lost his memory or something...

Or was he something else entirely?

Dean scrolled through Jimmy's posts, his face screwed up in concentration. "Okay, you're not him," Dean then decided and turned his phone towards Sam and Cas again, showing them a picture Jimmy had posted half a year ago, when he was at a beach in California. It showed him running towards the sea, back strong, sunburned and _human_ , no metallic cover in sight.

Cas was weirdly relieved. It was a small comfort that at least he hadn't forgotten about 30 years of his life. But then again, it raised the question, who was he if not Jimmy Novak?

"Does he have any siblings?" Sam asked and Dean nodded.

"One sister. But no twin, if that's what you're asking," he answered.

"So Cas is, what? A doppelganger?" Sam guessed and Dean 'hmm'-d thoughtfully.

"Or some kind of clone...?" he tried. "Either way, it doesn't sound all that reassuring," he muttered uneasily.

Sam hummed in agreement. "Speaking of disconcerting things," he then said. "There's one more thing we saw when we opened you up and it's some kind of tracking device slash signal receiver. I'm not one hundred percent sure but I'd say it's probably used for remote controlling or something, meaning, there might be someone who's controlling you -- or could _start_ controlling you. And seeing as we don't know who built the device -or you, for that matter- and with what intentions, I'd say it's better to get rid of it," he decided, glancing at Dean for reassurance. His older brother nodded determinedly.

It was Dean who continued.

"Do you mind if we get it out of you?" he asked, surprisingly civil for the moment. Then, "I'm still not one hundred percent convinced that you're not evil, but it looks more like you're getting _used_ for something evil without actually knowing about it. So, if you let us take that thing out, I _might_ even be able to start trusting you. Maybe. 'Cause, you know, we can be sure you're not under someone else's power or whatever," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Cas thought about it for a moment, not averting his gaze from Dean's eyes, and then nodded and turned around, offering his back to Sam again.

Sam and Dean let out a relieved sigh they tried not to let Cas hear but he did so nevertheless. He didn't comment on it and instead waited patiently for Sam to open him up once more.

When he was thinking clearly again, Sam was holding up something metallic that was about hand-sized and looked pretty heavy in Sam's grip. It had a red light at the side which was blinking slowly.

Cas looked at it in interest, squinting his eyes.

"I suggest we destroy it," Dean said but Sam hesitated.

"Then they'll for sure notice Cas missing, if they haven't already. I'll drive a state over tomorrow and hide it somewhere, so if Cas's absence gains attention, they get the wrong location. It wouldn't do us any good if a potentially dangerous guy came after us," he decided. Dean grumbled but agreed reluctantly. "And we still have to figure out what exactly is going on here..."

Sam looked up at Cas, eyes determined, and said, "You're staying. Are you okay with that?"

Cas nodded, again. He had nowhere else to go after all.

* * *

After the plan was made, Sam had offered Cas the couch to sleep on until Cas mentioned that he did not require sleep. Consequently, Sam had offered him the couch to sit on.

Sam and Dean went to bed soon after. It had gotten late with the whole questioning and opening Cas up et cetera. Cas still didn't know how long they'd been working on him, but it had to have been a while because when they were done, they'd quickly apologized for being tired and disappeared in their respective rooms.

Maybe they'd just used it as an excuse to get away from him though, Cas wasn't sure. Fact was, the second Dean was inside his room, Cas had heard a key turn in Dean's lock.

The night passed slowly but after long hours, Cas noticed that it was slowly getting brighter again. According to the clock, it was sometime around six o'clock, which meant Cas had been sitting on the couch silently and unmoving for at least six hours since he'd last looked at the clock. It wasn't possible for him to sleep, but he could stay in a more or less trance-like state if he wanted to and that was exactly what he'd done.

One of the bedroom doors opened then and Cas looked up. It was Sam, already dressed up in a loose shirt and shorts, apparently about to go for a run. He greeted Cas and asked him how he felt, which Cas thought was nice, replying with a heartfelt, "Very well." Then Sam said goodbye and went for his jog while Cas continued sitting on the couch.

Not long after, Dean got up as well, but unlike his brother he wasn't dressed yet, a robe hanging from his shoulders, leaving his chest and stomach free for everyone to see. He was wearing boxers underneath, which was the only piece of legitimate clothing on his body, and he seemed a little grumpy in general. His appearance was disheveled and Dean himself seemed disoriented.

He probably wasn't a morning person.

Noticing Cas's gaze, Dean nodded at him and disappeared in the kitchen for a little while. He came back with a cup of coffee and sat down at the table alone. His eyes found Cas's again, the look in them evaluating and skeptical.

"You want pancakes or somethin'?" Dean grumbled and even though he didn't sound all that friendly, Cas could appreciate the sentiment.

Still he shook his head. "I do not require nutrition," he answered. Dean scoffed in disbelief.

"It's not about whether you _require_ pancakes, it's about whether you _want_ some. Have you never had pancakes?" he asked, even though Cas was pretty sure he'd already told him his whole (embarrassingly short) life story -- no pancakes involved.

He shook his head in reply.

Dean groaned and hid his face in his hands. "You're unbelievable," he mumbled and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. Then he decided, "I'm making us pancakes and you'll fucking enjoy them, 'kay?"

He didn't wait for an answer.

Ten minutes later, he was back in the room with two plates full of food, setting them down on the table, and gestured for Cas to get over there. Cas complied immediately and watched Dean putting syrup and butter on both their pancakes, impatiently waiting for Cas to sit down.

"Dig in," Dean said when Cas was sitting across from him, not touching his own food but rather focusing on Cas and anticipating his reaction. Cas found it somewhat endearing, not that Dean would appreciate the thought.

He took a small bite. And his eyes widened in revelation.

Looking at Dean with wonder, fork still in his mouth, Dean smirked at him knowingly. "Good, aren't they?" he asked smugly and Cas nodded eagerly.

"They're great," he announced and took another bite. It was just as good as the first one. He decided right there and then that pancakes were a creation of God.

Dean grinned at his enthusiastic response, seeming content, but, remembering he was supposed to be skeptical of Cas, he forcefully hid his smirk by looking down at his own plate. He was glad Cas agreed though, pancakes truly were awesome. Also, he couldn't possibly start trusting someone who disliked pancakes.

The rest of breakfast passed quietly, the only sounds Dean's occasional moans and Cas's own noisy eating, until Sam barged in the door, back from his run, sweaty and smelling like he desperately needed a shower.

"Ugh, Sammy, you stink," Dean said and brought a hand up to cover his nose. Sam simply rolled his eyes, mumbled, "Morning to you, too, jerk," and disappeared in the bathroom. And despite Dean's rude remark towards his brother, Cas could see the gentle smirk he tried very hard not to let show.

They ate up in silence, until Sam came back from the bathroom, fully dressed and with damp hair. He had his car keys in hand and stole some of Dean's food, which Dean only commented with a scandalized, "Hey!"

"I'm gonna get rid of the tracker," Sam then explained, his mouth still half-full, and picked up the device in question from where it was still lying on the living room table. Dean hummed in response, not seeming all that interested in the whole thing. "Don't expect me back for a few hours," he said and waved at Cas with a smile on his face, leaving the house with a, "See you later, guys."

And Dean and Cas were alone once again.

Seemingly not in the mood to entertain Cas, Dean stood up and put away both their plates with Cas watching his every move. Dean was a fascinating human being, overly wary or not, and there wasn't much more to watch anyway.

Cas stayed where he was sitting at the kitchen table, even when Dean passed him again and sat in front of the TV without a comment. He turned it on, changing it to some show containing cowboy boots and doctors, and continued pretending that Cas wasn't there. Cas didn't mind. He enjoyed watching Dean from afar.

"I can _feel_ you staring at me, Cas," Dean grumbled after a few silent minutes and Cas averted his eyes.

"I apologize," he muttered quietly. "I did not mean to make you uncomfortable."

Dean snorted in disbelief but let it slide and turned his attention back to his TV show. Cas sat at the table and stared at his hands.

Half an hour passed without interruption and then there was a commercial break, during which Dean got up from the couch to relieve his tense spots. Cas's eyes followed him involuntarily as he stretched his arms over his head and groaned obscenely. He was still naked except for his boxers and the robe. For no reason at all, Cas felt his face getting hot at the sight and quickly looked down at his hands again.

Dean, who had of course noticed Cas's stolen glance, turned to look at him and sighed defeatedly. He disappeared in his bedroom for a few seconds and when he came back, he set some kind of cube down in front of Cas, crossing his arms as he looked down on him.

"I feel bad when you just sit around like that," Dean started and Cas looked up at him in surprise. "This should keep you occupied for a few hours at least," he explained and was about to turn away when Cas laid a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Wait," he said and Dean turned to him with raised eyebrows. "What is that?" he questioned.

Dean looked back at the object. "It's a Rubik's cube. You have to move the parts so every side only has one color."

Nodding, Cas let go of Dean's arm and followed his gaze to the Rubik's cube. That sounded simple enough.

"Okay," Cas replied and got to work. He picked it up, inspecting it for a second or two and then started twisting and turning the parts around. He was slow at first, but once he figured out how it worked, he got a lot faster.

The only sounds filling the room were the commercial in the background and the clicking of the cube. Dean watched Cas work with rapt attention, seemingly fascinated by the way Cas worked.

It didn't take him long. Not even five minutes later, Cas was done, every side of the cube one color only. He looked up at Dean, holding the cube out to him, and smiled proudly.

Dean stared back in reluctant wonder. Then he said, "You're no fun," and turned around to walk back to the couch. Cas looked back down at the cube with a small smile and began mixing the colors up again so he could start anew.

* * *

Sam came back in the afternoon and joined Dean on the couch, while Cas was still busy playing with the Rubik's cube. The look Sam sent him when he noticed was curious and a little confused, but after he traded a glance with Dean, who shrugged carelessly, Sam decided it didn't matter.

And that was how the day passed. The Rubik's cube was Cas's single way of passing the time, only interrupted by dinner, which Dean -again- insisted he ate. It was great, just like breakfast had been, and Dean's smug smirk when Cas told him so was proof that he knew it. Sam didn't comment on any of it and simply smiled to himself with an exaggerated shake of his head.

After dinner, Sam showed Cas pictures of hospitals from around town, asking if he recognized any of them. He did not. Sam said it was fine and promised he'd try looking for more in the vicinity. And that was that.

When the Winchesters went to bed, Cas was left on the couch again, spending the night with the Rubik's cube just like he'd spent the hours before. The toy was fascinating him and for some reason it didn't even begin to bore him, no matter how many times he succeeded. It was something new and Cas was good at it, and he reveled in that unfamiliar feeling of pride.

* * *

It was the next day when Dean finally decided he'd had enough.

"Cas, could you put that fucking thing away for just one second?" he asked, impatient but not entirely unkind, from where he sat next to Cas on the couch. "It's annoying," he added.

Cas looked up at him in surprise. He hadn't realized that he was bothering Dean. As far as Cas knew, Dean hadn't even hinted at being unnerved, but then again Cas wasn't very good with people yet. He had a lot to learn still.

He put the cube away. "I apologize," he said, deciding to return to sitting quietly on the couch next to Dean. The man sighed in relief.

Not knowing what else to do, Cas turned his attention to the running TV, joining Dean in watching the same show as before, the one involving cowboy boots and doctors. Apparently, a guy named Dr. Sexy was the lead character.

Watching silently for a few minutes, Cas decided that he had no clue what was going on. Like, at all. Dr. Sexy had made out with two different nurses and one dude, and Cas was man enough to admit that he didn't understand what was happening.

"This is very complex," Cas therefore said. Dean looked at him in surprise. He hadn't even noticed Cas was watching with him.

"Believe me, it gets more confusing with every episode," Dean commented, perking up visibly. "I can explain it to you, if you want to?" he offered and Cas nodded curiously.

"So, that dude with the cowboy boots, that's Dr. Sexy and the _most_ important thing you need to remember is that the cowboy boots are what makes Dr. Sexy sexy, okay?" Dean asked and Cas nodded attentively. "Good. It's important for the season finale.

"So, in the very beginning, Dr. Sexy is new at the hospital and meets Dr. Piccolo, the sexy yet earnest doctor who seriously overuses the word 'seriously'. They get to know each other and there's loads of unresolved sexual tension and after a season or two, he finally gets together with her; but then she _leaves_ him because the stupid sexy bastard drunkenly kisses Dr. Wayne, who's a total, arrogant bitch by the way, even though she's _crazy_ hot, and Dr. Sexy doesn't know what to do with himself. This is the episode, in which he tries to work through his grief with meaningless hook-ups; I've already seen it. I'd tell you more but then I'd spoiler you and I can't have that. Let's just say there's some really unexpected plot twists to come," he explained, his barely contained enthusiasm overriding everything else.

Cas nodded again, turning back to look at the screen. "So that's why Dr. Sexy is making out with Dr. Hale right now? Because he's grieving?" he asked, not quite sure if he got it right, and Dean nodded.

"Exactly," he agreed and his gaze lingered on Cas's face for a little longer than what would be considered normal, before he turned back to the TV himself. Even though he knew the episode, he didn't want to miss what he knew was gonna happen.

And there it was, minutes later, they watched quietly as Dr. Sexy broke down crying in the janitor's closet, still high on pain meds, effectively ending the episode in a giant cliffhanger.

"That was very enjoyable," Cas decided, smiling at Dean, and Dean scoffed knowingly.

"Just wait for the next episode, it's a _roller coaster_ ," he announced, glad that Cas seemingly shared his love for Dr. Sexy MD. "We can watch it tomorrow, if you want to. What do you think?"

"I would like that," Cas said genuinely and Dean smiled happily, forgetting for a moment that Cas was supposed to be the enemy. It was kinda hard to remember when Cas was acting nothing like it though.

* * *

The next day, after another riveting episode of Dr. Sexy MD, Dean took Cas to show him his car. Or rather, to teach him all about it.

For some reason, educating Cas on the subject of sophisticated medical dramas had made him decide to teach him about other stuff as well, his first and foremost being his Baby.

Cas didn't even remember how it happened, but a little while after the episode ended -in another huge cliffhanger, naturally- Dean had looked at Cas with a frown on his face until he'd seemingly made a decision and beckoned him to follow.

"Come on," he'd said, standing up with a smirk, and Cas had followed curiously. "I'm gonna teach you about Baby," he'd announced, leaving Cas wondering about who exactly Baby was supposed to be.

It soon became clear that Baby was Dean's car. The _car_ was 'Baby'. And it was a 'her', apparently. So, after the short (and somewhat confusing) second introduction, Cas found himself standing next to Dean while he worked on the car, handing him tools every once in a while and listening to Dean's elaborate explanation about how Baby's engine worked, what was important to check on a car as old as this one and why exactly a 1967 Chevrolet Impala was the greatest car to ever exist. Cas didn't understand most of what Dean was telling him, but he listened attentively nevertheless. And whenever Dean pointed something out to him with his arms burrowed elbow-deep in his car, Cas continued pretending to understand, even though he was far from it, just so he could keep watching Dean.

All in all, it was a little frustrating for Cas but seemingly joy-bringing to Dean, so Cas didn't question it. It was nice to have Dean's attention anyhow, and the fact that he even bothered explaining this much made Cas happy.

Weirdly enough, it didn't stop at the car. Over the course of the next few days, Dean had apparently made it his mission to educate Cas on everything he deemed important. Whether it was cars, TV shows, food or music.

The only thing Cas remembered when it came to that last one was that, "Taylor Swift is evil and Zep is heaven," which Cas wasn't sure he could fully support because he'd asked Sam about it later and listened to a Taylor Swift song, finding that he'd quite liked it.

He still had the right mind not to tell Dean about it though. He'd be horrified.

So, yeah. For a man who still hadn't withdrawn his claim that he did not trust or -God forbid- _like_ Cas, he sure was intend on teaching him about 'the important things in life'.

For a change, Cas knew what that meant and didn't mention it once.

* * *

"Can I ask you a question?" Cas spoke up when the three of them sat at the dinner table again, quietly eating Dean's amazing burgers. It was yet another thing Dean had insisted he tried, and Cas was more thankful with every bite he took.

"Anything, Cas," Sam answered genuinely and Cas couldn't help but smile. Sam was so very different from Dean; he was nice in an honest, easy way. Dean on the other hand was rude sometimes but enthusiastic enough to make up for it and of course, no less nice on the inside.

"Why are you helping me?" Cas inquired, finally asking the question that'd been on his mind since he'd let the brothers help him. "I do not have anything to give you in return and yet you are helping me. Why are you so interested?" he continued.

Sam shrugged helplessly, looking to Dean for help. The latter replied, "Dunno. Curiosity?" and took another bite of his burger.

"I guess it has something to do with our line of work," Sam elaborated slowly, smiling a little. "We're private investigators, with a lot of free time at the moment, so I guess we were just waiting for something exciting to happen."

Nodding in realization, Cas thought about everything that had happened. It made sense. The way Sam and Dean had already found out this much about where he came from, when he himself had had no idea about it.

"Besides," Dean started, speaking with a full mouth, successfully gaining Cas's full attention again, "it's not every day you find a robot walking the streets. 'S normal to be curious."

"You may be right," Cas said, lost in thought. "Did you find any more pictures of hospitals?" Cas then asked and Sam nodded.

"I expanded my search to hospitals in a 30 mile radius. I doubt you've really gotten that far but it's better to check every possibility. I'm pretty sure the hospital in question will be among them," he said. "Wait a sec, I'll get them."

And he came back with loads of pictures to show Cas. They went through about thirty photos until Cas saw something that looked familiar. "It is this one," he announced, gaining Sam and Dean's attention immediately, and pointed at the photo in question. "I remember the apple tree."

"That's great, Cas," Sam said genuinely and took the photo in hand. "Now we found the hospital at least. It doesn't get us the location of the factory hall you mentioned, but that's alright; we can at least keep an eye on the building."

He continued, "Adding to that is the fact that we don't know what they were planning to do with you once in the hospital, so checking the place out would be smart either way," he added, more to himself than Dean or Cas. "We also don't know your maker's plan. All we know is that there's lots of robots that look like real-life people running around, possibly being controlled by someone we don't know. It's a little confusing. I wonder what that guy's goal is," he muttered.

"I have an idea," Dean announced, smirking and looking pretty damn confident.

Sam shut him up before he could even voice his thoughts. "We're not interested in your sci-fi _world domination_ theories, Dean," he scolded him and Dean looked away from the table, pouting.

"It's still possible," he grumbled.

"Yeah. Sure," was Sam's answer. And that was all that was said on the matter.

* * *

_World domination_ , Metatron thought. A hard task to achieve, but not impossible, he believed. Or, well, it wouldn't be, if his employees weren't such goddamn _idiots_.

Pacing the room in agitation, Metatron waited for Inias to arrive, so he could scream his anger out at him. As if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

"You called for me, sir?" Inias's quiet voice finally sounded from the door and Metatron turned towards him. The door was opened, Inias's hand still on the handle, and he looked as uncomfortable and guilty as Metatron would expect him to.

"Come in, Inias," he growled in reply, forcing him to close the door behind him, and stepped closer to him, right into his personal space. "Now, is there _anything_ you need to tell me?" Metatron asked, anger lacing his voice.

Inias stayed quiet, guilt and reluctance fighting on his face, until Metatron couldn't stay silent anymore. "Why did I have to hear from _Meg_ that one of our robots is missing?" he gave in when he realized Inias didn't plan on humoring him. At that, Inias looked away uncomfortably.

"We only just realized today, sir," Inias said, making excuses for his behavior, like expected. "The tracking device tells us if its location hasn't changed in a few days, and that's what happened this morning. I didn't inform you because we were busy _fixing_ it," Inias explained, his gaze now back on Metatron, challenging him defiantly. "We know where it is, and we sent some of our men. They should be with the missing robot every minute now."

Metatron scoffed impatiently. "Any minute now, huh? How did that even happen? How do you _lose_ a robot?" he shouted again and Inias pursed his lips in annoyance.

"I don't know, it was not my fault," he said slowly, sounding pissed, and Metatron rubbed his temples with two fingers. He could already feel the headache coming...

Forcing himself to calm down, he tried to go over the problem rationally.

"Did he at least have his memories inserted already?" he inquired, knowing that hoping for it would be ridiculous, but doing so either way.

"No," Inias answered coldly. "It doesn't appear so."

 _Great_ , Metatron thought sarcastically.

"Call them," he then demanded and only got a confused frown in return. "The guys who are getting the robot, call them _now_ ," he insisted and Inias did as he said, getting out his cell phone and punching in a number.

It rang three times until someone answered with a distracted, "Hello?"

"This is Inias, did you find it?" Inias asked, not bothering with small talk, and got somewhat awkward silence in return.

"Um..." the man at the other end started. "We did find the location, but..." He hesitated. "The robot's not here."

Inias frowned. "What do you mean the robot's not there?" he asked, glancing at Metatron, who, at his words, was already starting to fume again. "You have to be in the wrong place," he insisted.

"No," the man answered. "No, we're definitely in the right place," he announced cryptically and Inias _so_ did not have the patience for this.

" _Explain_ ," was all he commented, sounding slow and dangerous. The man on the other end hurried to comply.

"We found the tracker, but no robot. They've been separated somehow. He must've... I don't know -- lost it, or something. Fact is, the robot's not here," he concluded and Inias closed his eyes in exasperation. This whole project had been doomed from the start but somehow it only got worse and worse the longer it went on.

"Come back here," he said as a goodbye and hung up.

Metatron was watching him with a furious look on his face. He already knew what was going on from Inias's half of the conversation.

Inias didn't elaborate.

"Fix this," Metatron hissed. "Or you're fired."

As if that would still bother Inias at this point. Nevertheless, he nodded and turned to leave the room, already planning what he had to do to find the robot for Jimmy Novak. First, he had to find out which hospital he'd been delivered to.

Then he'd think about the rest.

* * *

Grocery shopping, Cas decided, was one of the most confusing things he got to know so far.

The one who had exposed him to the subject, of course, was Dean -- again.

The man had just been about to teach him how to make pecan pie -as opposed to cherry pie, which they had made earlier that day and which was something _completely_ different, according to Dean- when he realized he didn't have any of the ingredients left. And logically, instead of maybe realizing that baking three pies was enough for one afternoon, Dean decided that they had to go grocery shopping instead. For all Dean knew, it was simply another great opportunity to show Cas how to live.

They walked to the store. It wasn't all that far away after all, and Sam had taken Baby to check out the hospital -- which, honestly, Dean couldn't even mope about because it meant he'd gotten out of researching again. So walking it was.

When they got to the store, Cas was a little surprised by how big it was and by just how many people managed to fill the space. It was noisy, chaotic and a little chilly -- not that Cas really felt that last one.

"Come on," Dean announced, grabbing Cas by his elbow on instinct and not letting go. He apparently knew where he was going, so Cas followed behind him more or less willingly, all the while watching the other customers curiously. Some of them seemed to be in a hurry and cursed when they saw the long line at the checkout. Others didn't seem to mind as much and took their time looking around. Cas hoped Dean and him counted to the latter ones. Cas had decided he didn't like being under pressure.

He was dragged into an aisle full of baking supplies and headfirst into Dean's explanation on the importance of knowing all the different kinds of flour. It was very detailed and proved a little too much, and it made Cas's head swim after barely a minute. Nevertheless, he tried to catch as much as possible. (Spoiler alert: It wasn't a lot.)

"So, which one do you think would be the best one for a pie?" Dean asked after he was done explaining, in an attempt to test Cas's new knowledge about baking flours. Of course, Cas didn't know the answer for the life of him. So, he ended up pointing to a random one and hoped for the best.

Dean looked at him in surprise. Apparently, Cas had been right..?

"You know," Dean said reluctantly, grabbing the bag Cas had just pointed to and putting it into the basket hanging from his left arm. "You're not so bad, Cas, really."

And that was about the nicest thing Cas had ever heard Dean say to him. Staring at Dean in wonder, he let himself be dragged around yet again, Dean taking care of the rest of the ingredients, not bothering to explain everything for a change.

When they eventually arrived at the checkout, Dean made Cas choose some candy for himself and then smiled contently when Cas hesitantly decided on some chewing gum.

Grocery shopping had been a success, in Dean's eyes.

Cas wouldn't know.

* * *

_"Dr. Sexy, please!" Dr. Piccolo shouted from the other side of the street, tears spilling from her eyes as she tried to follow him. He wanted to ignore her, he really did, but the desperation in her voice made him stop in his tracks. He couldn't just walk away from her like that. She was the love of his life..._

_Turning back to her in the middle of the road, he braced himself for whatever she was going to say._

_And that was when_ _he got hit by an ambulance._

"Fuck!" Dean exclaimed, almost jumping in his seat, that's how surprised he was by the sudden appearance of the vehicle. He'd seen the episode before of course -he'd seen _all_ the episodes of Dr. Sexy MD- but for some reason it had still caught him off-guard.

There was just so much _drama_ , it was hard not to get lost in it.

"Is Dr. Sexy going to be all right?" Cas asked, the TV the only thing illuminating the room (and thereby also Cas's concerned looking face), and for a second Dean wondered if he really needed to explain to him that the characters on the show weren't actually real people. But then his eyes met Cas's and he found that he couldn't just sass him like that.

"Yeah, sure," he answered instead, scoffing a little. "He's right in front of the hospital. He got hit by an _ambulance_. He'll be fine. Besides, I could tell you everything that happens the next _three seasons_ , and what would 'Dr. Sexy MD' be without Dr. Sexy anyway?" he uttered, winking at Cas, and Cas squinted awkwardly with one eye in a pathetic attempt to copy him.

"I think you gotta practice that for a little longer," Dean laughed fondly and Cas nodded, determined. He was an ambitious learner when it came to the small things, and even though car stuff seemed to be lost on him -which was a shame, really-, he was quick with most other things.

Grocery shopping had gone well after all!

"Do you know what I do not understand though?" Cas then asked, successfully pulling Dean out of his thoughts, and locked his gaze with Dean's.

"Hm?" the latter made expectantly.

"If Dr. Sexy and Dr. Piccolo truly love each other... why do they keep hurting each other all the time?"

And damn it, but Dean honestly didn't know how to answer that one. 'Because it's a medical drama,' he wanted to say. 'It's _about_ hurting.' But that answer didn't seem to grasp exactly what Cas was asking.

Dean stayed silent, thinking about it for a few minutes -because if there was one thing he was sure of, then that Cas deserved an honest answer-, and came to only one obvious conclusion. "People aren't perfect," he ended up saying, sounding surprisingly quiet and resigned. A picture of Lisa appeared in his mind, but he shoed it away. It was a long time ago. And he certainly hadn't meant to sound so depressing about it.

His words naturally put a damper on the mood -- the silence that followed was heavy and thoughtful, and Dean couldn't stand the look in Cas's eyes. He averted his gaze quietly.

In an attempt to save what was left to save, he muttered, "That doesn't mean all love hurts though. Love can be amazing if you let it be." He didn't know what even made him say it -he wasn't usually the emotional type of guy-, but it seemed like the obvious thing to do when Cas was having that forlorn expression on his face.

Something in Dean's words made Cas's eyes narrow and then look away, a little embarrassed maybe. Was it because their conversation had gotten so intimate? Was it because it had sounded weird coming out of Dean's mouth? Or was it because...?

"Have you ever loved before, Cas?" Dean asked, now smiling slightly again because he'd figured it out, and leaned his head against the arm he had propped up on the headrest. Cas didn't meet his gaze, proving him right.

He shook his head. "No."

"You do feel though, right? Like, in general?" Dean continued, genuinely interested, and Cas glanced up at him, nodding thoughtfully.

"I do not feel everything, I suppose," he started, searching for the right words and only somewhat finding them. "I do not feel fear for example. Or pain. I do feel happiness, however, and confusion and fondness. I do feel disappointment and pride. I do feel a lot of other things I do not know what to name, but I know that I do feel them," he said, his gaze finding Dean's and holding it as he spoke. "I suppose I could feel love as well if I tried."

And just like that, the air around them seemed to crackle in anticipation. It was as if that sentence had opened the door to a million possibilities. The atmosphere was tense, but it was a good kind of tension, and neither of them was very eager to avert their gaze.

"So," Dean started slowly, not able to control the words that came out of his mouth, "if I kissed you right now... would you feel something?" he asked, leaning towards Cas with a small smile.

And without batting an eyelash -only betrayed by the blush on his cheeks-, Cas responded, "Almost certainly."

They wouldn't be able to tell who closed the gap first, afterwards. Probably Dean. Fact was though that pretty much as soon as those words had left Cas's mouth, Dean's hand was cupping his cheek, lips pressed against the other's. It wasn't a very long kiss, but it was affectionate and intense and one of the nicest kisses Dean could remember having.

When they parted, Dean didn't let go of him.

"Was that alright?" he asked, uncommonly insecure, and searched Cas's eyes. The latter only smiled in response and nodded.

"I liked that very much," he said and before Dean could answer, Cas eagerly pulled him in for another kiss. Not able to suppress the laugh, Dean smirked into Cas's lips and returned the kiss eagerly. Cas's lips were soft and tasted amazing and Dean couldn't seem to get enough of them.

Soon enough, his tongue asked for entrance. Cas opened up without hesitation.

Letting a small moan escape his mouth, Dean leaned further into Cas, gently pushing him down on the couch, and let one of his hands travel underneath Cas's shirt. His skin was smooth and warm and Dean slowly let his hand wander upwards across Cas's abs, his flat stomach, his strong chest, and stopped right above where Cas's heart was beating rapidly beneath his fingers. Knowing that it was _him_ that made Cas's heartbeat fasten that much, sent a pleasant shiver down Dean's spine, and a desperate wave of want made his own breathing stutter.

"Cas," he breathed into Cas's mouth and without meaning to, he grinded his hips against Cas's.

Apparently, that was mistake, because Cas pulled away as soon as he felt the half-hardness in Dean's pants.

"Stop, Dean, I--" he stuttered, struggling to get out from underneath him, and Dean quickly pulled away, throwing his hands up in the air in a soothing gesture. Cas sat up and scrambled away a few feet, not meeting his eyes, seeming extremely uncomfortable.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have... Sorry," Dean muttered guiltily, not knowing what else to say or why exactly Cas had reacted as strongly as he had. Dean hadn't meant to grind against him like a horny teenager, and he certainly hadn't wanted to give him the impression he was forcing him into something. The thought alone made Dean feel sick to his stomach.

"It--" Cas started and paused, staring ahead with a desperate look in his eyes. "It is not your fault, I am sorry," he then said, glancing towards Dean guiltily, and all Dean wanted to do was kiss the shame away, but he didn't know if he was allowed to.

"What's wrong?" he asked tentatively. "I didn't mean to force you into anything," he added, gulping down the bitter taste in his mouth.

"No, it is not-- You did not do anything wrong, Dean," Cas said, purposely catching Dean's gaze and holding it. "It is not your fault," he insisted.

"Then what's the matter?" Dean asked, touching Cas's hand hesitantly, and breathed out in relief when Cas didn't pull away.

"I--" Cas started and he obviously didn't know how to say what he was thinking. "I am afraid... I will not be able to have sex with you, Dean," he eventually said and Dean frowned in surprise at his bluntness. Then Cas started rambling, which in itself was very unusual for him. "It just appears that my penis is more for show than use and I do not want to get your hopes up because I physically cannot get erected. I understand that humans enjoy sex and I am sorry, Dean, I really am, but it is simply not possible with me," he explained, looking away shamefully, and Dean cupped Cas's cheeks again, turning his head back towards him.

"Cas, it's okay," he assured him, holding his gaze steadily. "We don't need to have sex. That's not all there is," he said. "I like you, that's what's important."

Hesitating for only a second, Cas decided to believe him and nodded. His whole body slumped in relief and he leaned back into the couch exhaustedly. His mind still seemed to be racing but it was better than before.

"I like you, too," Cas confessed quietly.

Dean smiled.

"And I did like the kissing. And the touching," he decided, making Dean laugh out loudly in disbelief.

"Great," he said, feeling a whole lot better, and playfully messed up Cas's hair with his hand.

And that was when he touched something cold. He stopped.

"What the hell?" he asked nobody in particular and frowned in confusion. His fingers found the cold thing again and pushed away Cas's short strands of hair to get a better look at whatever it was.

"What is it?" Cas asked and he seemed alarmed. He probably didn't know about it either.

"It's... I don't know," Dean started, staring at the thing hidden on Cas's scalp. It was metallic and it looked like... a plug or something?

And that was when it all crashed down on him. Fucking hell.

" _SAM_!" he shouted, not caring that he literally pulled his brother out of his beauty sleep. " _I figured it out_!"

* * *

"I _sincerely_ hope you have a good reason for why you yelled me out of bed after midnight," Sam grumbled after he'd left his room in his pajamas, muttering curses under his breath.

"Oh, I assure you I have a good enough reason, bitch," Dean said, glowing with pride. "I figured it out."

Sam looked at him expressionlessly, arms crossed over his chest, and waited for him to elaborate. Dean didn't indulge him though and simply grinned at him instead.

Rolling his eyes, Sam gave in. "Okay, _what_ did you figure out?"

"Everything," Dean replied teasingly, knowing he was about to drive Sam crazy. He continued before Sam could say anything. "I know how Cas's maker did it, Sam. I know what their plan is and I know how they pull it of. And believe it or not, their plan really _is_ world domination."

"Okay," Sam said, unimpressed. "Go ahead."

"Alright, so what do we know so far? Firstly, we have Cas and a few thousand more robots that look like persons. What else would they be meant for than to replace the original? That's something we can be pretty sure of. Secondly, Cas had a tracking device and signal receiver inside of him and I'm betting the others do, too. They're obviously in charge of the robots and who knows what they're gonna do with them. Therefore, world domination!" Dean explained, ignoring Sam's rolled eyes and his sarcastically muttered, "Duh."

"The factory hall is where they store their robots until they are shipped off to wherever they're supposed to go," Dean continued. "That's about all we know for sure so far."

"If that's all you figured out, I'm gonna punch you," Sam said. This time it was Dean rolling his eyes.

"I'm far from done, bitch," Dean answered. "Because thanks to everything we know, we can't help but ask ourselves three questions.

"Number one, how do they make such perfect copies of real people? They gotta get their information from somewhere. Number two, how -or better, where- do they replace people with robots without being obvious? And number three, how does no one notice the difference between robot and human? Those people gotta have friends or something, who would definitely notice if their friend was replaced by a robot behaving like Cas. No offense, man!" Dean said, smirking at Cas, and Cas nodded solemnly. He hadn't taken offense -- he _was_ acting fairly un-human after all. And since it was Dean, he wouldn't have taken offense in any case.

"Okay..." Sam replied thoughtfully, slowly turning into his usual, awake self. "You might be onto something there..."

"I am. Because I know how they did it." The bastard smirked. "I know everything, Sammy."

"Then get the hell on with it," Sam exclaimed impatiently.

"Alright. The answer to all those questions is..." Dean paused dramatically. "The hospital."

"The hospital?" Sam asked, not understanding.

"The hospital." He laughed. "See, of course the hospital had to play a role in all this. It's where Cas was sent to, so _something_ was gonna happen there. If we assume that the hospital is involved in everything, we can answer question number one pretty easily -- where do they get their information. Hospitals have lots of information about their patients. They might have CT or MRI scans that help with building similar bodies, they could've put up cameras for pictures to copy a perfect face, they know the whole medical histories and everything! If a patient's limping for example? Then it's important to have the robot limp, too. Get what I mean?" Dean asked, eyes sparkling happily, and Sam blinked in surprise.

"That... doesn't sound all that farfetched, to be honest," Sam admitted. Slowly, he continued, "It also explains question number two -- where do they replace them. The swap happens at the hospital... They get a patient's information during their stay at the hospital and the patient goes home while the others start building a robot. When the patient comes back for a check-up, the robot is ready to change place with them."

Dean nodded, pointing a finger at him. "Exactly!" he exclaimed.

"But what about the last question? How _does_ no one notice the difference between robot and human?" Sam asked. Dean's theory worked fine until that point.

"My thoughts exactly," Dean continued. "I had it all figured out but that was the one thing that just didn't make sense. Until I saw this," Dean announced, beckoning Cas to come closer, which he did, letting Dean touch him to show Sam what they found. Gently, Dean pulled away Cas's hair, exposing the plug on his scalp.

"This, Sammy, is the answer to everything," Dean said smugly while watching Sam frown down at the thing in Cas's head. "It may sound a little sci-fi, but just imagine if someone managed to do a _memory transfer_. The robot would know everything the original did and probably wouldn't even be aware of not being human. They'd just go on with their life as they knew it, until their master or whatever sends out a signal and takes over the world," Dean couldn't help but smirk even though it wasn't all that funny. Still, he was pretty damn proud of himself. "And of course -to get back to the hospital being the key to everything-, there is no better place to put a plug in a person than in a hospital. Oh, and before you say, ' _But t_ _hat's impossible, Dean!_ ', just remember that whoever is behind all of this managed to build perfect robot copies of persons, so why the hell _wouldn't_ they know how to build a memory transfer-er?" Dean said, having gotten to the end of his speech, and waited for Sam to stomach it all.

"So," Sam started slowly. "Assuming you're right... That would mean the whole hospital was involved in the matter. A single nurse or a single doctor can't pull something like that off on their own. They'd all have to be involved, wouldn't they?"

"Either that or they were the first ones who got replaced," Dean said. "Also, this probably isn't the only hospital that's in on it. Cas said there were other robots with him, and they went into different vans with different destinations, so it's possible that there's hospitals all over the country that are doing the same."

"Gosh, just how big is this thing?" Sam asked, slowly starting to believe Dean's theories and feeling more than a little uncomfortable at the thought. "World domination sounds a lot more realistic now," he admitted reluctantly. "Early stages, but still."

"I told you," Dean said with a big smirk on his face. Cas stared at Dean with rapt attention.

Sam cleared his throat. "So... what are we gonna do about it?"

* * *

After discussing and deciding on a sufficient plan, it was time for Sam to go back to bed, and Dean also opted to get ready for sleep. Cas stayed on the couch like the previous nights while Dean disappeared in the bathroom, and watched the clock ticking away. It was a little after three AM.

The sound of the flush sounded from the bathroom and Cas knew Dean would open the door any second now and disappear in his room. Even now, Cas couldn't wait for Dean to wake up again, so they could spend more time kissing each other.

Like he'd predicted, the door to the bathroom opened. Cas didn't look up, until Dean called his name.

"Hey, Cas," Dean said quietly, as to not wake up his brother yet again, and Cas turned towards him with a slight smile. Dean was leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, mirroring the fond smile Cas himself had on his face.

"Yes, Dean?" Cas asked, ready to wish him a good night's sleep, but was surprised by Dean's next words.

"Come to bed with me?" he asked and tried his most convincing smile. Cas looked at him, surprised. "We could touch some more?" he offered cheekily.

Cas couldn't suppress the happy laugh that left his mouth.

"Yes, Dean," he said and got up to follow Dean into his room.

* * *

"There they are," Sam said, sitting in the backseat and pointing to a black van standing in front of the hospital inconspicuously. "They were here yesterday as well and I watched them running around in a panic for hours. They seem to be looking for you, Cas," he explained, confirming what he had told them the night before. They'd decided against hiding Cas further and rather decided to fight against that mad man's plan. After all, who else would do the job if not them?

"You know what to do, Cas?" Sam asked and Cas nodded. "Great. We'll be right behind you the whole way. As soon as we figure out where they're taking you, we'll call the police. The rest is up to you."

"I know," Cas said, an unfamiliar hint of nervous anticipation curling in his gut. He glanced towards Dean in the driver's seat.

"You'll do fine," Dean assured him, smiling, and reached out a hand to touch his.

"What happens afterwards?" Cas inquired, finally asking the question that'd been bothering him since yesterday.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked back, a frown spreading on his handsome face.

"I mean, where will I go?" Cas elaborated. "Will I... Can I stay with you?"

"Duh," Dean said, looking at him like he was crazy.

"I do not know what 'duh' means, Dean."

"It means _yes_ , you idiot. Of course, you'll stay with me!" Dean exclaimed, making a tentative smile form on Cas's face. "If you want to, I mean."

"Okay then," Cas replied happily. It was _all_ that he wanted.

He looked back out the window, the men having disappeared into the hospital. Now was the perfect time to go. They wouldn't see him leaving Dean's Baby and therefore not question where it was he came from -- or it would be easier to lie about it, at least.

"I suppose I should go," Cas decided, locking gazes with Dean. "I will see you when it is over, hopefully."

"You will," Dean assured him. And then he leaned in for a sweet, lingering kiss that had Dean smiling into Cas's lips. When they parted, Dean smirked at him, saying, "See you later, babe." All the reaction their kiss got from Sam was raised eyebrows and frustrated silence.

"Yes, see you later, Dean," Cas said, about to open the door. "Oh, and you, too, Sam," he quickly added, sending a smile to the back of the car. Sam forced a smile back and rolled his eyes, clearly stating, 'Thanks for remembering I'm still here.'

Cas didn't notice.

Then, finally, with his goodbyes in mind, Cas opened the car door and left.

As if he had planned it, the exact moment he had gained a safe distance from the car, the men from before came outside again. They hadn't noticed him yet, but Cas knew it was only a matter of time. Pretending not to know who he was about to run into, he did his best to look lost, but seeing as confusion was the one emotion he had the most experience with, it wasn't all that hard to fake.

He didn't look in the men's direction when they eventually noticed him, but rather opted to stare at the apple tree in front of him in interest. It was a beautiful tree.

"Isn't that--"

"Dude!!" He heard the voices.

"It's him, isn't it? Look at that picture and tell me it's not him!"

"Hey, you," the smaller one exclaimed, coming closer, and Cas turned his head towards him.

"Yes?" Cas asked, aiming for a naive tone.

"Where the hell did you disappear to?" he said angrily, grabbing Cas's arm and pulling him towards the van while waiting for an answer.

"I got lost," Cas replied and he wasn't even lying. "I was wandering the streets."

The guy who was still gripping him huffed in annoyance. "Yeah, right. And you just so happened to lose your tracker on the way, huh?"

Cas looked at him calmly, tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. "Tracker?" he asked.

The man sighed in frustration.

"Never mind," the same one muttered. "Metatron'll get it out of you. Just get in the damn van."

And Cas did so without complaint. Once he was inside, the first man made him turn around, pulled up his dress shirt and opened the cover on his back.

Cas froze on the spot.

"Come on," the man said to the other. "Metatron will be glad to hear we finally got him." And they left the van to go to the front, shutting the doors behind them.

When the van came to life, Cas wiggled his fingers carefully. It still worked. A small smile spread on his face.

This morning, Dean had been working on giving him back clear thought once his cover was opened, and he'd succeeded spectacularly. Dean was a beautiful and smart man, who seemed to be very gifted in all matters of mechanical engineering. Cas couldn't help but feel honored that such a wonderful man adored his company.

Standing as still as possible, Cas waited patiently for the van to reach its destination. He was aware that it might take a while, but when they still hadn't stopped moving after what felt like hours, Cas started wondering where exactly the factory hall even was. He hoped it was still inside the country and not in, like, Mexico or Canada.

When they eventually stopped, Cas almost believed they were only stopping for gas. But then the back doors opened and the same small man from before shut his cover forcefully and pulled him outside. Or, well, inside. Since they were standing in the very same factory hall Cas had started out in.

He looked around curiously while the men dragged him through a small door on the side and down a narrow hallway. Dirty white walls were everything Cas could see.

"Metatron will be so pleased to know we got him back," jerk number one said smugly for the second time, tugging hard on Cas's arm. Cas would've been bothered by it if he wasn't utterly indifferent to pain.

"We might even get a promotion, dude!" number two said excitedly.

"We might," number one agreed. "But you know Metatron. He could fire us all the same."

"Huh... True..." number two said resignedly.

The rest of the walk passed in silence. Cas didn't mind, he was the quiet type after all, and instead focused on memorizing which turns they took and what kind of doors they were passing. They also met some people, human and robot alike -- the humans looking busy and important, the robots seeming more like cheap employees or even slaves. Who knows if they were being paid at all. They probably weren't.

The three of them stopped in front an inconspicuous door at the end of a hallway. Jerks one and two looked at each other and then at him, seemingly discussing something with their gazes. Then they made him turn around and opened his cover. Cas fake-froze again.

"You stay here until we're back," the second one said. "We're gonna talk to Metatron first and get you right after."

"Dude, he can't even hear you," the first one retorted. "Are you dumb?"

"Are _you_ \-- dumb?" the other stuttered, angrily pulling open the door, and both of them left, continuing to bicker like an old married couple. The door closed and Cas was alone.

Reaching out with his hand, he quickly shut the cover on his back and hurried back the way they came from. He needed to find the control room as soon as he could and shut off the system if possible. There were too many doors...

He knew he only had a couple of minutes, maybe half an hour if he was lucky. Depending on what the two men were discussing with Metatron... But seeing as they seemed to be rather talkative fellows, Cas guessed he had ten minutes at least.

Following the path he had come from, Cas's thoughts started racing. How was he supposed to know where the control room was? He didn't know anything about this building! He'd have to get damn lucky if he wanted to make it.

He wondered if Sam and Dean had called the police already. If the police even believed them. He hoped for the best.

"Hey, what are you doing?" a voice sounded from behind him and Cas turned around to look at its source. It was another man, obviously human, with a clipboard in his hands.

"I am looking for the control room, sir," Cas offered the truth. "Could you, by any chance, tell me where it is?" he prompted. It was worth a try after all. "I have trouble remembering."

"Why?" the man asked. "What's your business in the control room?" He seemed suspicious.

"Mr. Metatron sent me to check on something, sir," Cas lied. "I cannot tell you any more."

"Mh-hm," the man made. "And if I ask Metatron about it, he'll be confirming what you're saying?"

"Of course," Cas replied. His voice was steady and sure of himself, a convenient perk of not being able to feel fear.

The man looked him up and down.

"Are you human or robot?" he asked eventually.

Tricky question, Cas thought. The man was smart. As far as Cas knew, none of the robots who got their new memories were aware of not being human. Looking at that, it was only obvious Cas had to reply with, 'I am human, sir.'

On the other hand though, the robots working in this building wouldn't have to be based on real people, would they? They wouldn't have to get new memories and they might even be aware of what they were. Hell, Cas himself had had an inkling about not being human.

Also, the robots in this building seemed to be rather trustworthy slaves, seeing as they could be controlled. The guy would never expect a _robot_ of all people to pull something on them. If he answered with, 'I am human,' and the man checked his back, he'd be in trouble.

It all depended on whether robots _knew_ they were robots or not. And how could he possibly know that?

He took a chance. "I am robot, sir," he answered and got a nod in return. The relief Cas felt was almost overwhelming.

"You just follow down this corridor and turn left at the end, the control room is the third door on the right," the man said. "It requires a password, but since Metatron sent you, I'm sure you know it. Don't loiter," he added and with those words he turned around and left.

Cas mumbled a quiet, "Thank you, sir," and followed the man's description down the hallway. He turned left and stopped at the third door, glancing around to make sure there was nobody else around. Then he looked down at the door. There was a small keyboard at the right and an instruction to type in a 'fifteen letter password'.

Sam and Dean had told him he might have to put in some passwords and they'd had a rather easy solution for it as well. Underneath Cas's cover, they'd hid a small device that would help him crack open the door, but something stopped Cas from taking it out. It was the _fifteen letter word_ that made his brow furrow. Could it be...?

He reached out a hand.

'WorldDomination,' he typed hesitantly, wondering if Metatron really was as shallow as he appeared, and let out a small huff of surprise when the door clicked open.

Okay, that had worked way better than expected.

Pushing in, he entered the room and stopped in its middle, staring.

The door fell shut behind him.

He was... alone, he realized. Obviously, someone wasn't doing their duty. The room wasn't as big as he had expected, but it was rather spacey, considering that the only thing filling the room was a small metal stool, a table with a coffee mug on it, and a huge computer-like thing that filled half of the room on its own. Holy hell. How was he supposed to find the _off_ button on this thing?

Before he could worry about it any further, a thought crossed his mind. Maybe he didn't need to find some kind of button or lever or whatever. Maybe destroying the thing might work just as well. This way nobody could ever turn the whole thing on again.

Yes, he decided, destroying it was better.

Turning his head towards the stool, Cas frowned in contemplation. It was better than nothing, he assumed.

Without further ado, he grabbed the chair and ripped off one of its legs with superhuman strength. Yeah, sometimes being a robot had its perks.

So, armed with a chair leg and determination, Cas turned back towards the computer.

This was it, he realized. This might be the beginning or the end of him. Neither Sam nor Dean were a hundred percent sure if turning off the computer would turn off _him_ as well. Seeing as he got rid of the signal receiver inside of him, he _might_ be protected from any repercussions, but none of them could be sure. It was pretty likely that all the robots who were living their fake life in peace were gonna collapse as soon as his chair leg hit the machine.

It wouldn't surprise him if he was one of them. He just hoped he'd manage to do enough damage during that one hit.

Sparing one last thought on Dean and his soft lips, his gentle touch, his blinding smile, Cas gripped the leg with both hands.

Now or never, he thought.

And he took the first swing.

* * *

* * *

**Epilogue**

He walks down the narrow hallway. He doesn't know where he's going. It's loud and chaotic and there's two robots lying on the floor next to him.

They're dead, he knows. As dead as robots can be, that is.

Like some kind of miracle, he's survived. He's alive and standing, watching calmly as policemen infiltrate the building, watching calmly as a small, chubby guy is being dragged outside, raising his fists in anger.

"You don't know who you're dealing with!" the man cries. And he's right. Nobody knows who he is. Because he's insignificant.

He averts his gaze and keeps walking. The end of the hallway is close, he knows, and he just wants to get outside, to leave this place, to get back to the one he loves.

"Cas!" a voice sounds from in front of him, as if on cue. A familiar figure is standing in the middle of the hallway. Waiting on him.

A smile spreads on his face.

His loved one.

Dean.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt:  
> A mad scientist plans to take over the world by replacing humans with robots that resemble them perfectly. However, one of his robots is left behind by accidents and walks the street not knowing what he is. He takes on the name Cas and is found by Sam who brings him home to his brother, Dean. Dean is distrustful of Cas first but grows fond of him and they soon fall in love. But the mad scientist is still on the hunt for Cas.


End file.
